As most Android users wait for the anticipated Android 4.2 update to hit their devices, Galaxy Nexus users will get to enjoy some of the major improvements found in core apps thanks to some leaked Android 4.2 apps. The boys at AndroidSpin managed to score a collection of GAPPs which includes the 4.2 versions of Gmail, Maps, Talk, Calendar, Clock, Photo Sphere, the latest keyboard and much more. All Galaxy Nexus users will need to do is grab and flash the zip files that are available for download using any recovery method— just like you would flash a normal ROM. One thing to note is that Google Wallet does comes as a separate .apk, so users will need to grab that separate file and sideload it if they are interested in utilizing the app as well.

More details and download links can be found at the source links below.

One of the great things about Android phones is the ability to well… tinker with them. While most of the mod attention goes to the software side of things (i.e. rooting, ROMs, etc.), Android owners forget there is also the ability to tinker with a device’s hardware as well. With that in mind, a crafty Galaxy Nexus owner named Fenris_Ulf took some time to tinker with his device’s battery charging ability. Like most other devices, the Galaxy Nexus features a micro-USB output— which is susceptible to some wear, rendering charging of the device virtually useless and exactly what happened to Fenris_Ulf’s G-Nex.

Fenris_Ulf loved his Galaxy Nexus so much, that he bought another one— but this time, he took some precautionary measures in order to ensure his new Galaxy Nexus would charge… with or without the micro-USB out. He went ahead and ordered the extended battery and cover, a few Palm Touchstones, and a Palm Pixi touchstone cover. Using some geek wizardry (and some added luck), he managed to successfully mod the extended cover in order to all the device to charge inductively. OK in plain English: he hardwired some cables directly from the G-Nex’s innards onto the special cover, allowing for the full ability for him to simply place the modded G-Nex onto the specialized terminal and allow for inductive charging, (almost) no cables needed to charge the phone. Pretty cool isn’t it?

I’m sure you’re interested in all the deets, so hit the source link for the full details and instructions.

As we inch closer to the impending launch of LG’s Nexus 4, Verizon has put the Galaxy Nexus on sale. Last year’s Nexus smartphone is now available for $230, with no need to sign up for a painful new contract. Keep in mind the units in question are “Certified Pre-owned”, but Verizon claims that each phone has passed over 100 quality checkpoints to assure the utmost condition. And, each device comes with a full 1-year warranty, meaning if something happens to the device, Verizon will replace it free of charge.

Sure, the Galaxy Nexus may not be the latest and greatest, or even sport relatively fresh hardware, but at just $230 it’s difficult to pass up this opportunity. For comparison, Sony’s unlocked Xperia Activ –which sports a single core processor, a 3-inch display (320×480) and 3G– costs $250. Add this to the fact that this deal won’t affect your contract or future upgrades, and you’re left with one incredible deal. Hit the source link below before they’re sold out.

More good news for owners of Galaxy Nexus smartphones. Those who purchased their devices through the Google Play store or who have flashed the “takju” version of the firmware onto their device should be receiving an over-the-air (OTA) update to bring their device up to Android version 4.1.2. The update mirrors the version that rolled out a couple days ago for Galaxy Nexus devices purchased from sources other than Google Play. Like the earlier variant, it appears this is a minor update that primarily provides some performance enhancements “under the hood” as opposed to new features for users.

If you haven’t been notified yet of the update’s availability for your device, you might want to check in your settings.

While the update to Android 4.1.2 may have arrived for Nexus 7 owners last week, the new software is now making its way to specific Nexus handsets. The latest iteration in Jelly Bean is currently rolling out to select GSM Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S smartphones. Users are reporting that only “yakju” variants of the Galaxy Nexus are currently seeing the update, though it’s expected that the “takju” model (the one officially sold through the Google Play Store) will be getting in on the action over the next couple of days.

As expected, version 4.1.2 is a minor update for phones. Other than a slight performance increase, no incredibly significant changes are noticeable. Despite the Nexus 7′s update having unleashed landscape mode, Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S users will continue to be limited to portrait, sans any custom launcher.

If you simply can’t wait for the update to hit your device, you can always head to the source link below to flash the OTA manually.

Excellent news for unlocked Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 7 owners like myself who enjoy the pleasures of fiddling with those respective devices. The Google Development team has officially released the official Android 4.1.2 build JZO54K factory images for the unlocked Galaxy Nexus (“takju”) and the Nexus 7, respectively. This means that should you happen to take your general tomfoolery too far and create an “oopsies”, you’ll be able to restore the device back to normal as if nothing ever happened. And who wouldn’t want the ability to bring their device back to its original state?

Full details and links to the factory images are available once you hit the source link below.

I wasn’t always the Android fanatic that I am today, I originally started as a strong supporter of webOS. When webOS died about a year ago, I was a little sad to see the card based OS go. Now it seems that webOS has found a comfortable home as an open source community project. Now this project was only recently released for the community to tear at, but already it’s found its way to Google’s flagship Android phone; the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. What was the perfect Android development device has now taken another step into a whole new world.

Only a few days after the port was released, the source code has now been released as well. Now it seems that the flagship of the Android world will now be the flagship for Palm’s forgotten OS as well. I personally am really excited to see what the super talented Android community can do with this new development platform. It may even help spawn some new ideas for Android development as well. A small part of me is happy to see the Android community take their open source brother under their wing.

It is common sense that the longer a phone sits on the market, the more the value is depreciated. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a great example of this. Upon release, I remember the phone selling for well over $250 on a two-year contract, and over $600 to purchase the device without any agreement. Luckily the folks over at Verizon Wireless have made a deal to good to refuse. That’s right, some sort of wizardry has changed the price of the Galaxy Nexus, to a low of $50! Of course you need to sign on to a contract to obtain this deal, but if you are willing to go with Verizon no matter what, this seems like the deal for you.

It probably makes sense why Big Red is throwing upgradable customers this type of promotion. Perhaps a new, better, and stronger device is to come in to play on the Verizon network? I would love to hear your comments.

Developers or others who enjoy flashing their phones have a nice new option available if they have a Verizon Galaxy Nexus smartphone. After starting the process of rolling out a Jelly Bean update to Verizon users earlier this week, the factory images are now available on the Google Developers site for download. Listed as version JRO03O, the file can be used to restore a Galaxy Nexus to factory state. Even if you are not inclined to flash your Galaxy Nexus for fun, you can always keep a copy of the image as a fail-safe in case something really bad happens with your phone.

It looks like the Verizon Galaxy Nexus is finally getting some Jelly Bean love. Not only has Verizon posted the changelog on their site, but we received a few emails from readers saying they already got the update. The build is JR003O and has a file size of 146.6MB. We actually saw this build last month, but we weren’t sure if it was going to be the final build at that time.

Once the update takes place, you will be able to enjoy Google Now, Google’s new enhanced Voice Search, new Notification panel actions, and a smarter keyboard.

So far it’s not available to me, but I need to check again when I get back to a WiFi connection. To manually check to see if it’s available to you, just go to Settings/About Phone/System Updates. Please let us know if you were able to grab the update in the comments below.